Academics

Research statement:

My research interest is in the fields of neuroengineering and rehabilitation neuroscience. My work relies on combining computer modeling and electrophysiological recording techniques for studying the role of spinal neurons in integrating the sensorimotor signals at the cellular and system levels for movement control during health and in neurological disorders (e.g., after spinal cord injury, SCI, and in the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS). In particular, I investigate the cellular mechanisms regulating the neuronal excitability (e.g., cell morphology, membrane electrical properties, voltage-dependent ion channels, synaptic inputs) and their contribution to the motor system output in the healthy state, and study the changes in these mechanisms after neurological injury or disease. Computational methods are employed to develop realistic three-dimensional anatomically-based electrical models of healthy and diseased neurons. These models are composed of thousands of compartments represented through complex arrangements of resistor-capacitor (RC) networks that possess multimodal time-varying and voltage-dependent behaviors to reproduce the intricate electrical events seen during experimental recordings. These electrical models are also used to design electrical stimulation paradigms that modulate the aberrant neuronal excitability in neurological disorders. In-vitro experiments, on the other hand, are employed to test and validate the results of computer simulations. With this knowledge, my research work aims in the long term to develop electrical stimulation-based biodevices, called smart implantable neural prostheses (SIN prostheses), for alleviating motor disabilities and restoring motor function after SCI and ALS.

Myoelectric Prosthetic Arm Senior Design Project

Four students in the Department of Biomedical, Industrial and Human Factors Engineering (BIE) designed and implemented an upper limb myoelectric prosthetic arm under the supervision of Sherif M. Elbasiouny, Ph.D., P.E., P.Eng. The prosthetic arm featured three joints: elbow, wrist and hand with six different movements. The motors that move the joints operated using the EMG signal recorded from three upper limb muscles of a human subject. A microcontroller was programmed to simultaneously record realtime EMG signals from three muscles, condition the signals and detect the operator’s command from the EMG signals’ profiles. The project involved the design and implementation of the prosthetic arm mechanics and its three joint motors, design and implementation of the electronic circuit, signal processing of the EMG signals and programming of the microcontroller.

At the completion of the project, the students presented successfully a reliable (i.e., arm operation was consistent and dependable), universal (i.e., arm could be used by different subjects) and portable (i.e., standalone arm circuitry and microcontroller separate from the PC) prosthetic arm in which multidisciplinary engineering principles (mechanics, electronics and microprocessor programming) were successfully applied and integrated.

The project represented the newly-established neuroengineering research area on campus in the groundbreaking ceremony of the Neuroscience Engineering Collaborate (NEC) building on April 25, 2013, represented the BIE department in the College of Engineering and Computer Science Advisory Board meeting on April 25, 2013, and represented Wright State University in the Science Olymbiad opening ceremony on May 16, 2013.

Project Final Presentation

Thomas N. Hangartner, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Biomedical, Industrial and Human Factors Engineering at Wright State University, tries the myoelectric prosthetic arm developed by four students as a senior design project under the supervision of Sherif M. Elbasiouny, Ph.D., P.E., P.Eng., director of the Neuroengineering & Neurorehabilitation Laboratory.

Presentation at Science Olympiad National Tournament

Presentation during the opening ceremony of the Science Olympiad National Tournament held at WSU on May 17 and 18, 2013

Elbasiouny SM, Schuster JE, and Heckman CJ (2010) Persistent inward currents in spinal motoneurons: important for normal function but potentially harmful after spinal cord injury and in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.Clinical Neurophysiology, 121:1669-1679. (The journal featured one figure from this article on its cover page.)

Elbasiouny SM, Moroz D, Bakr MM, and Mushahwar VK. (2010) Management of spasticity following spinal cord injury: current techniques and future directions. Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, 24 (1): 23-33. (This article was featured on MDLinx.com website and was summarized by the physician editor.)

Elbasiouny SM, Bennett DJ and Mushahwar VK (2006). Simulation of Ca+2 Persistent Inward Currents in Spinal Motoneurons: Mode of Activation and Integration of Synaptic Inputs. J Physiol (Lond), 570 (2): 355-74. (This article was ranked by the Journal of Physiology among the Top 10 Research Papers published in that issue of the journal based on the number of electronic access and downloads.)

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